The Seattle Seahawks safety hopped on Twitter and posted the following about the hit by Church:

The hit on Gronk is the only way Church could have done his job without just obliterating Gronks knee. If he would have just hit him low most ppl would calm him dirty. So there is nothing he can do to make everyone happy and do his job. Unless you think he should let him catch

Would love to see some of these fans play the game. They all have such great perspectives 🙄. Couldnt even imagine playing at the speed and intensity that these men are playing at. Split second decisions.

It’s hard to argue with Sherman’s logic. It was obviously a split-second decision by Church and he was really in a difficult spot if he wanted to make a hit on Gronk. It’s unfortunate that it led to the Pats tight end being in concussion protocol and being ruled out for the game, but if Church had hit him low it could have been even worse.

You never want to see a safety hitting a guy high like that, but Church attempted to lead with his shoulder, and wound up going helmet-to-helmet. It was certainly a penalty but it’s also fairly clear Church was in an impossible position. He could either hit Gronk low and potentially take out a knee, let him catch the ball, avoid a hit and let him run by, or do what he did. There are no good options there.

Gronkowski is out for the game and the Jacksonville Jaguars are ahead, so obviously this will be a talking point moving forward.

Ryan Phillips

Ryan is a San Diego-based blogger who is a 10-year veteran of the sports writing world. He holds a journalism degree from Indiana University (yes he left San Diego for Bloomington, Indiana voluntarily). He has no pets and a crippling addiction to HBOGo.